g'day mick,

like you say if it aint broke why fix it?

those spots are a type lychen of sorts won't do any harm to the tree
probably give it character.

if you want to promote new growth just cut off the spindly stuff but
not all the way back the main trunk.branch just enough so new growth
buds appear, also cut out any dyiing/dead or damaged branches.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/